The image of Disney would have fallen to wayside long ago if they didn’t understand concept of branding. The brand just wouldn’t have held up. This company knows that your brand must go deep inside your company and radiate through every level. It isn’t just about what you tell your target customers in your ads.

When you consider your brand, ponder these questions:

1. What do we want to be known for?

2. What do we want others to say about us?

3. What is essence of our organization?

4. Is every department aware of our brand and image we want to portray?

5. Does everything we do reinforce our brand? (Our staff, physical location, packaging, Web site, advertising, products and services.)

6. When you say name of our business, what words do others respond with?

Once your brand has been determined - once you have every aspect of your company following in line with brand – you can focus on your promotional efforts. Without your brand being clearly defined, your marketing plan will most likely come up lacking. However, if you concentrate on perception and reception of your business by your target customers first, your advertising will be more effective and results will be astounding.

Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be, too! Karon is Owner and President of KT & Associates who offers targeted copywriting, copy editing & ezine article services. Subscribe to KT & Associates' Ezine "Business Essentials" at BusinessEssentials-Subscribe@topica.com or visit her site at http://www.ktamarketing.com

As an example, ad agencies do this all time. One might position itself as leader in high-technology, another might be leader in customer relationship management, and a third might be known as agency to go to for cutting edge graphics and eye-popping images. KARON: I see… so it’s a matter of focusing on what customer really wants/need? OK… but how do you know when it's time to consider repositioning your product/service? BOB: In my company, we have a saying: "Never let your spouse, your employees, your sales people, or your cousin Lorraine tell you when to change your positioning. The only person whose vote counts is your accountant." In other words, as sales from an existing positioning begin to fall off, start testing alternative positioning. And of course, world-changing events can force an immediate change in positioning. KARON: So when we see sales tapering off, what steps do we take to reposition ourselves? BOB: As I mentioned earlier, positioning should be driven by what is most important to your customer. What goal do they want to achieve most? What is biggest problem they're desperate to solve? Answer these questions, and your new positioning will shine through. KARON: So a little market research will go along way to answer those questions, right? Maybe conduct a survey or send emails to clients asking them what’s important to them right now. Thanks Bob!

BOB: You’re welcome, Karon. Glad to be of help!

Bob holds a patent on an advanced testing software suite that he and his partners developed and sold for millions in just 17 months, and has patents pending on a consumer product and a business service. You can get a FREE subscription to Product Development Hotline by clicking on this link: http://www.ProductDevelopmentHotline.com